13th Kavli IPMU and ICRR Joint Public Lecture: See the Unseen Universe

Date of activity: November 22, 2015

More than 170 people, young and old, turned up to learn about dark matter and revealing the universe using gamma rays at an event jointly hosted by the Kavli IPMU and Institute for Cosmic Ray Research (ICRR) on Sunday, November 22nd, 2015.

Kavli IPMU Associate Professor Kai Martens kicked off the event with a talk titled “Dark Matter: Mystery, Imagination, and Challenge”. In it, Martens talked about how scientists first found evidence concluding that the universe could exist thanks to dark matter, how it has shaped research in this area today, and how he and his colleagues are working to uncover its identity through the XMASS experiment.

ICRR Project Assistant Professor Masaaki Hayashida followed up with his talk titled “Look into our Dynamic Universe Using High-energy Gamma Rays”. Hayashida explained how gamma rays help scientists study the invisible universe using optical wavelengths, and showed the audience a multitude of photos of the Cherenkov Telescope Array, which is currently under development.

Following these talks, the two speakers were invited to sit down and talk about their own paths to becoming researchers, such as what motivated them to become involved with the projects they are working on and what other experiments they had worked on. They exchanged questions about their equipment with each other. The talking never seemed to stop, and before long it was time to draw the discussion to a close.

Afterwards, both speakers and guests were invited to join a reception outside the Koshiba Hall venue to have discussions with Martens and Hayashida over tea and biscuits. The opportunity to speak one on one with researchers was one the participants seemed to enjoy, with conversations going on well past the scheduled finishing time.